New single-family building permits were up 5 percent in Wake County in February, according to data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.

Permits were up 25 percent when comparing the previous 12 months to the 12-month period between March 2012 through February 2013.

Over that same period, permits were up 60 percent in Apex, 51 percent in Rolesville, 19 percent in Fuquay-Varina, 21 percent in Raleigh, 9 percent in Cary and 16 percent in Knightdale. The only Wake municipality to see a decline in permits was Garner, where permits fell 11 percent.

Permits are flat in Wake Forest over the past 12 months.

The uptick in new home construction has not been enough to lift the Triangle’s historically low inventory levels. There were 1,572 new homes listed for sale in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties in February, up 17 percent from the same period last year, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show.

Still, the region had just 6,589 homes for sale at the end of February, down 7 percent from a year ago and off 30 percent from two years ago.